A/N: Sorry about the longer than usual wait! Finals week is a killer :( Here's a short update; I'll try to post another one soon but I have finals week part 2 and moving out of my dorm to do.
"Ashley," the book begins, "As I'm writing this, I'm not sure what my own fate will be. By the time you find this, either I will have died or I will be exactly where I aimed to be, in which case there may be hope for us yet. Our enemies plan to erase the memories of everyone who was not on their side at the start of the war, which means that in time this will also happen to you. I can only hope that you are still able to find the things I've given you and to figure out how to gain access to this book. I've got limited time to explain things to you, so I'll get straight to everything you need to know. Unfortunately, there's no time for details. Firstly, myself, Arthur, and Paula have gone away to gather with people who are like us, who hope to save even a bit of humanity from this takeover. It was unsafe to take our families with us, but hopefully you will have an easier time getting to your destination than we will, since you should be leaving after things have died down and they should not be expecting you to attempt an escape.
"Where you're going is very far away, but the compass will lead you there if you just follow the arrow. You will not be able to leave with only the information I can give you. Your escape from the city will be a team effort. If you want to get out safely, you will need to do it using the calculator. I had Arthur program it with a passcode, which he revealed to me was Spencer's birthday."
I pause there, staring incredulously. Spencer? As in Spencer Carlin? And who the hell are Paula and Arthur? Are they her parents? This is raising even more questions than it's answering, and it was supposed to be what finally explained everything to me. "What the fuck?" I whisper, frustrated and baffled as I continue to flip through the pages one by one.
"You may get upset with me for this, especially if you truly have lost your memories, but I'm not going to tell you what Spencer's birthday is, only that once you know it, you should enter the month, day, and last two digits of the year into that calculator in order to reveal your path. The only way for you to get this information will be to find Spencer and obtain it from her. I don't have time to write more; you should know what to do from there. Good luck, Ash. Be safe. I love you."
It ends there, and I'm left with blank pages until the end of the book. I must reread the message two or three times before it finally begins to sink in. This is my way out. I talked the talk, and now here I am with the option to take myself up my own offer. Pull a Madison. The thought both exhilarates and scares me. I want to know what else is out there for me, especially if the safe haven my dad has hinted at really does exist. But on the other hand, getting caught means certain death, and I know my mom is in no position to travel. I'd have to leave her behind. And what about Aiden? Chelsea?
"Spencer," I murmur aloud, trying to wrap my head around what the message suggests about her. She fits the physical description of the girl I've been dreaming about, along with most of the stuff I've written down in my journal about her. Even the "starts with C?" suggests either I was thinking of "Carlin" or confused it with "S", both of which would make sense given the circumstances. And now my dad's told me to make sure I see her before I leave, or perhaps even take her with me. I'm not stupid. I just find it incredibly hard to believe that the first blonde girl I even somewhat befriend turns out to be the one I've been looking for for over six months now. Can my luck really be that good? And could it be so bad that the girl from my dreams did nothing but argue with me and call me crazy once I finally found her?
I reread the letter one time and let the pieces fall into place. The Carlin parents, Arthur, and Paula, and my dad ran off to go fight Patrol, who evidently knew they were all rebels. Patrol probably came for them after they were gone. So Glen joined Patrol to appease them before he had his memory wiped, and my mom's injury… suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Anger flares up within me as I realize Patrol is responsible for her condition. Whatever they did to her did nearly irreparable damage to her body, and now she's most likely got a year to live at most because the doctors won't give her the medicine she needs. What if there's medicine that could save her at this place my dad wants me to go to? What if my dad himself is alive after all, and is waiting for me there?
Blood pumping faster through my veins as adrenaline rushes through me, I frantically begin to form my plan in my head. Now that I know what I know, I need to leave as soon as possible. I can get Spencer's birthday from her tomorrow. Tomorrow night I can find the exit and finish making preparations for leaving. I'll go to school the following day, and then make my escape as soon as I get home. No one but my mother –who will know where I've gone- will report me missing until I don't show up for school over fifteen hours later. Hopefully that will be a big enough of a head start that I can travel safely to wherever I'm headed. According to the compass, I'm supposed to go east.
But then there's Spencer. Spencer, who lost her memories of not one, but both of her parents, and who has a brother working for the very same people who are responsible for that loss. And if Clay's actions after both Chelsea and Spencer were in harm's way all those weeks ago were any indication, he isn't exactly the solace she'd want or need in a time like this. He's more concerned with Chelsea's well-being. If I leave her here, am I leaving her here alone to rot in misery? Aiden and Chelsea both have people here that can care for them, but I'm not sure Spencer does. And besides, I haven't exactly spent every night yearning to find out Aiden or Chelsea's identities. Now that I've found Spencer and I know who she is, I should try to keep her close. I want to keep her close, and my dad wants me to keep her close. But how on Earth could I convince her to come with me, or even to hear me out, after the conversation we just had today? She'll just call me crazy again.
I let out a sigh, making up my mind. I'll say my goodbyes as best as I can over the course of the next two days without being too obvious, and less than forty-eight hours from now, I'll be headed out of the city and into the unknown with only my dad's words and a compass to guide me, regardless of whether Spencer Carlin is by my side or not. I can come back for her the way I'll come back for my mom, but if she won't leave with me two nights from now, I have to go by myself. I have to find out what's out there, and if my dad is still alive.
I get out of bed to rehide the objects resting on my comforter, adrenaline still running through me, and begin to collect a mental inventory of what I'll need to take with me.
